SH - Part 2/10
Jan. 6th, 2008 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
minimouseTitle: Spatial Harmonies, Chapter Two
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Pairing(s): one sided Simon/River
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1, 408
Songs: What A Good Boy -- Barenaked Ladies
River stayed behind in the cargo bay, a brilliant smile shining on her face. All the emotions that had been pouring out of everyone had filled her with such happiness, and she just had to dance, and to let it all out. She spun and she spun, dancing with such intensity that she could almost feel her feet burning, and still she went on, until suddenly she stumbled into something, jarring out her of her dance. She looked up with some confusion to find out what had hindered her process, and found herself looking into the eyes of a rather large puppet creature. She screamed, and stumbled backwards from the puppet man, and stopped, very suddenly, in the middle of the room. She knew that whatever her back was now up against, it wasn’t a wall, and it was with great fear that she slowly looked over her shoulder and into what she hoped would not be another puppet.
It wasn’t, though River wasn’t sure if what she saw was any better.
It was a large Devil-like creature, with the whole red skin and horns ensemble. He was nicely dressed in a blue suit, which greatly complemented his complexion, and he was grinning down at River, showing pointed teeth.
River screamed again, turning and fleeing from the cargo bay, lest she be eaten by the demon creatures.
---
River was running down the hallway. She had stopped screaming in favour of putting as much distance between her and the red man as she could. Her feet were making a lot of noise on the ground under her feet, and as she passed the infirmary for the third time in the past 30 seconds (apparently, she had been running in circles), Simon came out.
“River,” he said sharply, “stop. Please, tell me what's wrong.”
River was shivering with fear and confusion. “The devil walks among us. Pointy horns, red skin, terrifying figure. Creeps up behind you and leaps out of the darkness with no warning. Turns us all into puppets.”
Simon blinked in confusion. River could see by his eyes that he was trying not to laugh. She pulled away from him angrily. “You don’t believe me,” she mumbled.
“Oh meimei,” Simon said softly, putting his arms around her. “I know it’s hard, I know – but you’ve got to keep trying to sort out the difference between dream and reality.”
“Not a dream!” River insisted. “Hiding in the cargo bay while we all sing! Waiting for the pack to leave, pick us off one by one.”
Simon smiled gently at her, an almost pitying expression, but so full of love that River could forgive him. She could hear the soft sounds of piano beginning to play in the background, and found it very soothing. Simon began rocking her in his arms to the gentle strums of a guitar, stroking her hair gently. After a few moments, he began to hum out a melody. Finally, he began to sing...
“When I was born,
they looked at me and said,
‘What a good boy,
what a smart boy,
what a strong boy.’”
River giggled slightly. The ideas that people would have said that Simon would grow up to be strong was quite silly. Simon smiled at her gently before continuing.
“And when you were born,
they looked at you and said,
‘What a good girl,
what a smart girl,
what a pretty girl.’”
As he said those words, River smiled up at him, and he tapped his finger against her nose, leading her slowly out of the hallway and into the infirmary as he continued into his song.
“We’ve got these chains, hanging ‘round our necks.
People want to strangle us with ‘em
before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, ‘fraid of staying the same.
When temptation calls...we just look away.”
River blinked at him in confusion. Temptation? What could he be talking about? But Simon looked at her with such intensity, and drew her back into the song.
“This name is the hairshirt I wear;
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.”
River looked at him in confusion. He couldn’t possibly be suggesting...
“This song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me...
Be with me tonight!”
River was shocked. The last time that she had spoken to Simon about love, he had told her that to be together was impossible. That the kind of love they shared was a brother and sister type of love, which was very different from the kind of love that he shared with Kaylee. Yet the images that were pouring out of his mind and into her heart were singing a completely different tune.
“I know that it isn’t right!”
Okay. So at least he admitted it.
“But be with me tonight.
I go to school,
I write exams,
if I pass, if I fail, if I drop out
does anyone give a damn?”
River looked at Simon in confusion. There was so much truth in his words, but they weren’t things that Simon would ever have said. Simon would never confess to having hated school. The only thing that River could think of was that all of this singing was behind it. And she was willing to bet that that strange demon she had seen down in the cargo bay was behind the strange singing.
“And if they do,
they’ll soon forget
‘cause it won’t take much for me
to show my life ain’t over yet.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange,
I wake up wondering if anything in my life
is ever gonna change.
I wake up scared! I wake up strange!
And everything around me stays the same...
It’s the hairshirt I wear
and this hairshirt is woven from, is woven from, your brown hair.
This song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me.
Be with me tonight!”
River looked at him fearfully. The entire song was making her very nervous.
“I know that it isn’t right!”
River turned to walk away from Simon, but he grabbed her arm. She looked at him. His eyes were filled with such desperation. She felt herself welling up with pity for him.
“Be with me tonight.” The line came out of Simon’s mouth as almost a whisper. River nearly started crying at the emotion in the voice. But his song wasn’t over yet.
“I couldn’t tell you...
that I was wrong.
Chickened out, grabbed a pen and a paper
sat down and I wrote this song.”
River thought that was an interesting thing to say, as the song seemed to be pouring out of Simon’s heart completely of its own accord, and there was no paper in sight.
“I couldn’t tell you,
that you were right.
So instead I looked in the mirror
I watched TV
lay awake all night.”
We’ve got these chains, hanging ‘round our necks.
People want to strangle us with ‘em
before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, ‘fraid of staying the same.
When temptation calls...”
River couldn’t understand why Simon didn’t stop singing. Didn’t he see how much his words were hurting her? As Simon moved into the last chorus, he began to move closer to her, and River pulled away frantically, knowing that under circumstances that were not so emotionally charged he would never confess these things to her, and she just wanted to get away before something happened that they would both regret.
“Yeah...ehhy! Ooh, oh this name is the hairshirt I wear
and this hairshirt is woven from, is woven from
is woven from hair.
Oh this song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me,
be with me tonight!”
Simon reached over and grabbed River’s arm again, holding it with such force that she stopped trying to escape. The music, having reached its climax, settled into an epilogue of sorts, as Simon sang out the last few lines almost apologetically.
“When I was born,
they looked at me and said,
‘What a good boy,
what a smart boy,
what a strong boy.’
And when you were born,
they looked at you and said,
‘What a good girl,
what a smart girl,
what a pretty girl.’
yeah-eh, yeah...”
Simon let go of River’s arm. She turned and she ran from him.
Next Chapter
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Pairing(s): one sided Simon/River
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1, 408
Songs: What A Good Boy -- Barenaked Ladies
River stayed behind in the cargo bay, a brilliant smile shining on her face. All the emotions that had been pouring out of everyone had filled her with such happiness, and she just had to dance, and to let it all out. She spun and she spun, dancing with such intensity that she could almost feel her feet burning, and still she went on, until suddenly she stumbled into something, jarring out her of her dance. She looked up with some confusion to find out what had hindered her process, and found herself looking into the eyes of a rather large puppet creature. She screamed, and stumbled backwards from the puppet man, and stopped, very suddenly, in the middle of the room. She knew that whatever her back was now up against, it wasn’t a wall, and it was with great fear that she slowly looked over her shoulder and into what she hoped would not be another puppet.
It wasn’t, though River wasn’t sure if what she saw was any better.
It was a large Devil-like creature, with the whole red skin and horns ensemble. He was nicely dressed in a blue suit, which greatly complemented his complexion, and he was grinning down at River, showing pointed teeth.
River screamed again, turning and fleeing from the cargo bay, lest she be eaten by the demon creatures.
---
River was running down the hallway. She had stopped screaming in favour of putting as much distance between her and the red man as she could. Her feet were making a lot of noise on the ground under her feet, and as she passed the infirmary for the third time in the past 30 seconds (apparently, she had been running in circles), Simon came out.
“River,” he said sharply, “stop. Please, tell me what's wrong.”
River was shivering with fear and confusion. “The devil walks among us. Pointy horns, red skin, terrifying figure. Creeps up behind you and leaps out of the darkness with no warning. Turns us all into puppets.”
Simon blinked in confusion. River could see by his eyes that he was trying not to laugh. She pulled away from him angrily. “You don’t believe me,” she mumbled.
“Oh meimei,” Simon said softly, putting his arms around her. “I know it’s hard, I know – but you’ve got to keep trying to sort out the difference between dream and reality.”
“Not a dream!” River insisted. “Hiding in the cargo bay while we all sing! Waiting for the pack to leave, pick us off one by one.”
Simon smiled gently at her, an almost pitying expression, but so full of love that River could forgive him. She could hear the soft sounds of piano beginning to play in the background, and found it very soothing. Simon began rocking her in his arms to the gentle strums of a guitar, stroking her hair gently. After a few moments, he began to hum out a melody. Finally, he began to sing...
“When I was born,
they looked at me and said,
‘What a good boy,
what a smart boy,
what a strong boy.’”
River giggled slightly. The ideas that people would have said that Simon would grow up to be strong was quite silly. Simon smiled at her gently before continuing.
“And when you were born,
they looked at you and said,
‘What a good girl,
what a smart girl,
what a pretty girl.’”
As he said those words, River smiled up at him, and he tapped his finger against her nose, leading her slowly out of the hallway and into the infirmary as he continued into his song.
“We’ve got these chains, hanging ‘round our necks.
People want to strangle us with ‘em
before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, ‘fraid of staying the same.
When temptation calls...we just look away.”
River blinked at him in confusion. Temptation? What could he be talking about? But Simon looked at her with such intensity, and drew her back into the song.
“This name is the hairshirt I wear;
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.”
River looked at him in confusion. He couldn’t possibly be suggesting...
“This song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me...
Be with me tonight!”
River was shocked. The last time that she had spoken to Simon about love, he had told her that to be together was impossible. That the kind of love they shared was a brother and sister type of love, which was very different from the kind of love that he shared with Kaylee. Yet the images that were pouring out of his mind and into her heart were singing a completely different tune.
“I know that it isn’t right!”
Okay. So at least he admitted it.
“But be with me tonight.
I go to school,
I write exams,
if I pass, if I fail, if I drop out
does anyone give a damn?”
River looked at Simon in confusion. There was so much truth in his words, but they weren’t things that Simon would ever have said. Simon would never confess to having hated school. The only thing that River could think of was that all of this singing was behind it. And she was willing to bet that that strange demon she had seen down in the cargo bay was behind the strange singing.
“And if they do,
they’ll soon forget
‘cause it won’t take much for me
to show my life ain’t over yet.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange,
I wake up wondering if anything in my life
is ever gonna change.
I wake up scared! I wake up strange!
And everything around me stays the same...
It’s the hairshirt I wear
and this hairshirt is woven from, is woven from, your brown hair.
This song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me.
Be with me tonight!”
River looked at him fearfully. The entire song was making her very nervous.
“I know that it isn’t right!”
River turned to walk away from Simon, but he grabbed her arm. She looked at him. His eyes were filled with such desperation. She felt herself welling up with pity for him.
“Be with me tonight.” The line came out of Simon’s mouth as almost a whisper. River nearly started crying at the emotion in the voice. But his song wasn’t over yet.
“I couldn’t tell you...
that I was wrong.
Chickened out, grabbed a pen and a paper
sat down and I wrote this song.”
River thought that was an interesting thing to say, as the song seemed to be pouring out of Simon’s heart completely of its own accord, and there was no paper in sight.
“I couldn’t tell you,
that you were right.
So instead I looked in the mirror
I watched TV
lay awake all night.”
We’ve got these chains, hanging ‘round our necks.
People want to strangle us with ‘em
before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, ‘fraid of staying the same.
When temptation calls...”
River couldn’t understand why Simon didn’t stop singing. Didn’t he see how much his words were hurting her? As Simon moved into the last chorus, he began to move closer to her, and River pulled away frantically, knowing that under circumstances that were not so emotionally charged he would never confess these things to her, and she just wanted to get away before something happened that they would both regret.
“Yeah...ehhy! Ooh, oh this name is the hairshirt I wear
and this hairshirt is woven from, is woven from
is woven from hair.
Oh this song is the cross that I bear.
Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me,
be with me tonight!”
Simon reached over and grabbed River’s arm again, holding it with such force that she stopped trying to escape. The music, having reached its climax, settled into an epilogue of sorts, as Simon sang out the last few lines almost apologetically.
“When I was born,
they looked at me and said,
‘What a good boy,
what a smart boy,
what a strong boy.’
And when you were born,
they looked at you and said,
‘What a good girl,
what a smart girl,
what a pretty girl.’
yeah-eh, yeah...”
Simon let go of River’s arm. She turned and she ran from him.
Next Chapter
